Chapter 274

"...This counts as combat too?"

"Then the criteria for what qualifies as ’combat’ is absurdly broad..."

Kanzaki Rei had never intended to treat the Origin as an enemy.

The gap between them was simply too vast.

Yet—

His body continued to grow stronger.

This increase scaled directly off his current physical strength. In just a single second, Kanzaki Rei could already feel that his physical power had increased tenfold compared to before.

"...That’s ridiculous."

His original physical strength had already been pushed to an extreme—refined through prolonged body tempering and repeated breakthroughs past his limits.

At this point, conventional methods of further enhancement were practically useless.

It could even be said that his current body already represented the upper limit of his level.

Any temporary enhancement techniques—

At best, they were just icing on the cake. They couldn’t push him to a fundamentally higher tier.

But now...

This talent—

Just one second of combat had granted him such an overwhelming boost.

Terrifying.

As Kanzaki Rei experienced the surge of power from his talent, he simultaneously began casting more Origin Magic.

Across the heavens and earth, an increasing number of magic arrays etched themselves into existence.

Anzu’s Origin Magic.Calamity Pillar’s Origin Magic.Duskfall’s Origin Magic.Voidcycle’s Origin Magic.Izar’s Origin Magic...

If mastering a single Origin Magic was considered a perfect answer in the pursuit of Origin—

Then comprehending this many...

His answer sheet was nearly flawless.

As he displayed the results of his pursuit—

Kanzaki Rei made a wish within his heart.

His aura ascended.

A flood of spiritual feedback surged through him—

His Mage level increased.

Ansu looked up.

A hollow void had appeared high within the Sea of Consciousness.

Level 5 Decipherer.Level 5 Death Priest.Level 5 Warrior.Level 5 Mage.

This guy...

How many classes was he holding at once?

And the talents he had displayed...

How many Origin Magics had he mastered? How many God-Tier talents?

Ansu had lived for countless years.

He had seen geniuses across all of history—

Yet never, not once, had anyone given him this kind of feeling.

A single word could describe it—

Unfathomable.

Even now, Ansu still couldn’t discern what Kanzaki Rei truly was.

It only felt like—

He could casually pull out one "trump card" after another.

To others, these would undoubtedly be ultimate trump cards.

But for Kanzaki Rei—

They were just basic, everyday techniques.

Used without a second thought.

Origin Magic...

A mage’s ultimate killing move—

And he had mastered so many?

Light forbidden spells. Ice forbidden spells...

These taboo magics—

He wielded them just as casually?

And his mana reserves—

What exactly was going on with that?

Every subtle power Kanzaki Rei displayed was something others could only dream of attaining.

It was impossible to grasp.

Ansu could only wonder—

How many trump cards did Kanzaki Rei still have hidden?

To this day, no one had ever forced him into true desperation.

And only in true desperation...

...would someone reveal their real trump card.

Ansu refused to believe Kanzaki Rei didn’t have something even deeper in reserve.

「Level 5 Mage Mastery — Face of Origin (Exclusive): Combine all mastered Origin Magics to form a known manifestation of Origin within the Sea of Consciousness.»

Kanzaki Rei sensed the "Face of Origin" within his mind.

This singular manifestation perfectly integrated all the different Origin Magics he had comprehended.

Every insight—

Merged seamlessly.

There was no conflict. No contradiction.

Just by observing this unified, incomplete manifestation of Origin—

Kanzaki Rei felt profound realizations arise within him.

He could even reverse-engineer further aspects of the Origin from this incomplete form.

Combined with his Decipherer class—

Given enough time, he could one day fully reconstruct the Origin itself.

As for the second Mage mastery—

「Level 5 Mage Mastery — Accumulated Experience: For every spell mastered, spells of the same category gain increased power, range, and casting distance.»

Kanzaki Rei raised his hand.

A small fireball appeared in his palm.

This was the lowest-tier spell—

Fireball.

Magic rarely underwent qualitative transformation simply by leveling up.

At most, one could pour more mana into a spell—without causing it to collapse.

Or amplify it using magic arrays.

Those were among the few direct ways to enhance a spell.

Beyond that, improvement usually required assistance from other systems—

For example, the Death Priest’s soul sacrifice.

Or using martial techniques to launch magic attacks.

But now—

This mastery directly amplified spells based on the number of spells he had learned.

A comprehensive enhancement.

...A very good mastery.

If this were a game—

This would count as an independent multiplier.

Finally—

His talent.

This was the talent he had obtained through his wish.

「Acquired Talent: Seeker of Laws (Transcendent) >> God-Tier · Beacon of All Spells」

So both Warrior and Mage talents—

Always awakened at the Transcendent tier.

「All unlearned spells will converge toward your location. You can perceive the positions of all spells in existence. You may directly steal mastered spells from others. After obtaining your first forbidden spell, casting forbidden spells will require no cost.»

This—

Was his talent.

Kanzaki Rei had wished for the ability to learn forbidden spells through his talent.

The wish hadn’t been fully realized.

He had gained the talent—

But not a single forbidden spell yet.

Still—

When he opened his eyes, he could now see countless sources of light scattered across the world.

Each light represented a spell.

Some lights were distant but brilliant.

Others were close—but faint.

Especially within the nearby city—

There were billions of lights.

As dense as stars in the night sky.

Yet despite the overwhelming number—

There was no sense of chaos.

The larger the light—

The higher the spell’s tier.

And far beyond—

Across unimaginable distances, past entire seas—

There were immensely bright lights.

Those...

Were likely the locations of forbidden spells.

There were also lights of unusual colors—

Special-category spells.

Everything was perfectly clear.

From now on—

There would be no need to search blindly for spells.

After the advancement—

His mind felt clear. Refreshed.

He was finally a Level 5 Mage.

Compared to Izar, when they first met—

Who was stronger now?

Whoosh—

In an instant, Kanzaki Rei returned to the city.

Within his Memory Palace in the Sea of Consciousness, he opened a fifth-tier spellbook—

And began learning Tier 5 magic.

Upon reaching Level 5, he also perceived something entirely new—

Elemental Bonds.

The key to fusing different spells together.

Between elements—

There had always been invisible connections.

And those connections...

Were the foundation of fusion magic.

Which was why only Level 5 Mages could learn it.

Kanzaki Rei split his mind into three streams:

One part learning new spells.One part gathering information throughout the city.One part speaking within his Sea of Consciousness—

"Ansu, did you influence my mind?"

"When I advanced as a Mage, I became... impulsive."

The moment he asked—

He felt a surge of indignant frustration from Ansu.

"Ancestor... have you forgotten what month this is?"

"The Month of Chaos and Madness."

"As long as you’re human, you’ll be affected—at least a little."

"Even I’m not immune, let alone you."

Though Ansu cursed inwardly, his outward tone remained respectful and humble.

"Oh? So I wronged you?"

’Isn’t that obvious?!’

Ansu thought that—but said instead:

"You simply overlooked the influence of the lunar phase."

The lunar phase.

...He really had overlooked it.

Aegmissa had always manifested as chaos—

He had completely forgotten the aspect of madness.

It seemed—

He needed to examine himself more often.

And be careful not to act on sudden irrational impulses.

Then, Kanzaki Rei asked:

"In that case... what would you do?"

Ansu replied, "In that case? What do you mean?"

"How would you resolve a crisis that would bring regret to the entire world?"

Ansu sneered.

"Heh. Isn’t that simple?"

"If you know there’s a criminal in the city capable of destroying the world..."

"The easiest solution is to destroy the entire city."

"Or what—are you planning to save the world without harming a single innocent?"

Kanzaki Rei paused.

...That logic wasn’t wrong.

In fact—

It aligned closely with his own thinking.

"Then... let’s do that."

He glanced across the city.

Among the countless lights, a few stood out—distinct in color.

Interesting spells.

He would learn those first.

And then—

He would destroy the entire city.

Since this was only a simulation—

He had no intention of playing the role of a saint, saving everyone in a false world.